Think Outside the Box

Much research has been conducted on what skills, work habits, and mindsets contribute to career success. Michael Boyles, from Harvard Business School, notes that creative problem-solving “encourages exploring open-ended solutions” and developing new perspectives. His research found that those with the skills to find innovative solutions to complex problems often overcome unforeseen challenges and solve unconventional problems in their work settings. This includes academic settings like college. Additionally, creative problem-solving sparks innovative ideas, something desired in almost all workplaces.  

At Renbrook, our Lower School students have multiple daily opportunities to grow their creativity and problem-solving skills. This occurs in a variety of content areas, such as:

This list could go on and on. What’s important here is the variety of settings and tasks that provide many opportunities for developing creative problem-solving. Undoubtedly, their assignments become more sophisticated as the students move through the grades. 

 

Attached is a short video compilation of second and third-grade students sharing their “Think Outside the box Thursday” drawings. You will notice the difference between the second-grade ideas and the third-graders’ drawings. While these may seem simple, there is much at play here. Creative problem-solving involves other cognitive processes such as abstraction, decision-making, inference, analysis, and synthesis of basic background knowledge and new ideas. 

 

You can always do this at home to support your child’s skill development in these areas. For instance, you could choose a random object from around the house, like an oven mitt at dinner, and each family member gets a turn identifying that object as something else. For example, if I were handed the oven mitt, I would hold it up and say, “This is not an oven mitt; it is a hockey glove.” A simple activity stretches our minds in ways we don’t even realize.